| Henry Zheng
NCES
School administrator quality
FINAL REPORT:
Study 1: School Administrator Study: Thoughts for Redesigning the Questionnaire for the 1998-99 SASS
NCES is currently in the process of reviewing the direction, purposes, and uses of SASS for the planned 1998-99 survey. This includes examining the current uses of its data, its relationships with other federally sponsored data collection efforts, and future national survey needs in accordance to changing policy priorities. As part of the review efforts, this paper will discuss the scope, uses, and possible changes of the school administrator component of SASS from a user's perspective. In the following chapters, I will first present an overview of the school administrator questionnaire across three separate surveys. Next, an assessment of the current uses of the school administrator datawill be given. Lastly, comments and suggestions for possible changes to the school administrator questionnaire will be offered.
Study 2: School Contexts, Principal Characteristics, and Instructional Leadership Effectiveness: A Statistical Analysis.
Studies on the relationship between principals' leadership behaviors and school contexts were usually based on data collected through questionnaire surveys and personal interviews. The small number of cases available usually confined them to focus on a narrow range of factors. Such limitations restrict both the completeness and the generalizability of their findings. In this study, I would like to address these limitations by offering a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of contextual variables based on a nationwide study of school principals. The primary objective of this study is to use statistical evidence to compile a comprehensive profile on how contextual factors are associated with principals' instructional leadership behaviors. In the following chapters, I would like to offer a brief discussion on how instructional leadership as a theoretical construct can be defined and what are the key factors that may influence the variations in instructional leadership effectiveness. Then, national survey data to be used in this study and the data analysis methods are explained. Finally, research findings and policy implications based on statistical inferences are offered.
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